Camping in Musandam

We went camping in Musandam, Oman with 3 other families. We had 6 tents and 15 people.

We camped in Khasab, the only "town" in the Musandam peninsula. There are several villages too, but most of the area is mountains and rocks. The map also shows fjords where we went snorkeling.

The first night was a bit hairy... it was loud as Eid celebrations were going on. Local Indians brought in cattle trucks and tarps. They make an ampitheater or sorts and used one of the trucks as a stage. They played music, sang the Koran and danced. Larry, Matt and Wayne danced with them.

The camping shower. Matt in his Russian hat.

Hanging by the fire making dinner and roasting marshmallows.

Hammock and camp potty (the tent in the back). Our 2 tents.

Bodine, Dani, Tyler and Lillian. Elle, Kathy, and Lisa.

Day 2 - Snorkeling in the fjords. We had breakfast at the Golden Tulip nearby then headed off to the docks. It was an all day excursion. We were too tired to cook when we got back to so we went to the hotel. It was messy as usual, bar was supposed to open at 6 and food at 7, nothing ever starts when it is supposed to, but it was fun all the same. At least we got some sleep on the 2nd night as the party goers had to go back to work!

A small village in the distance. The kids are boated to school where they spend the week then come home on weekends.

Elle getting ready to jump and then taking a rest.

Larry and Dani in the water. Dani and Lillian.

Dani, Elle and Lillian. Larry looking very cool.

Larry messing with Dillon. Another small village in the fjords.

Dani :)

A boat just like the one that we were on. Larry and me.

Larry with the kids in the water. Oh, there were millions of tiny jelly fish that stung while in the water. Not so nice... I didn't get in the 2nd time around.

Lisa in her cowboy hat.

Day 3 - the drive home

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with 2 American families, 3 Australian families and 1 Canadian family. It was great! The American's set the menu and we divided up the food. Lisa organized the event and Philipa and Joe hosted. They live on Palm Jumeriah on frond B. I thought that I had a group shot, but I guess I didn't get one... bummer. What a great crew. It's nice to have a family in Dubai. At dinner we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. The boys got a little silly and said they were thankful for their butts. I said I was thankful for my art show and new boobs. Of course there were serious ones too. It was a great time!

Sophie, Elle, Dani, Tyler, Georgia, Megan, and Lillian. Sophie, Elle, Lillian, Megan and Dani.

Charlie, Owen, Banjo (Ben), Ethan and Dillon. Daren, Larry, Matt and Joe.

Jenny, Lisa and Lara (not to be confused with Laura!)

Dubai Fountains

We had dinner at an italian restaurant over looking the fountains at the Dubai Mall and the Burj Dubai.

FIFA World Cup Beach Soccer

FIFA World Cup Beach Soccer was on Umm Suqeim beach very near our house. It lasted for a week. We went to a few of the qualifying matches which were free. We also went over on the night of the finals assuming that we would have to pay to get in, but it was free! Beach soccer is action packed because the field is small. The final 2 games were Uruguay and Portugal and Switzerland and Brazil. There was face painting and we randomly decided to root for Brazil who ended up winning. The fireworks at the end were truly amazing. We were glad that we stayed. It was a school night and the kids got to bed at midnight... but hey, you only live in Dubai once, right?